Customer Reviews

Martin Luther's Basic Theological Writings (w/ CD-ROM)

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This is an incredible volume and, in my opinion, a better introduction to Luther than "Selections From His Writings". It contains a number of his better-known works including the infinitely worthy "Smaller Catechism," the infamous "95 Theses," and the thesis chapters from his personal favorite, "The Bondage of the Will." Alongside these monumental works are set lesser-known, but equally powerful writings. "A Meditation on Christ's Passion" held me near tears for its whole length and "The Freedom of a Christian" is (in my humble opinion) one of the greatest pieces of Christian literature ever penned. It would be too great a task to examine the whole of the contents of the book, but I would like to look in more detail at my personal favorite of the works in this anthology, "The Freedom of a Christian."

Martin Luther's treatise "The Freedom of a Christian" is perhaps the most powerful and concise presentation of the Christian life ever written. I cannot recommend this work highly enough. I rank this among the very best of Luther's works (and that is really saying something). If an inexpensive copy were still in publication I would buy every copy to give as gifts to friends and family. The power, discernment, brevity and readability of this work make a true gem among Reformation writings (and Christian writings in general). Here you will find the essence of the spirit of the Reformation distilled into a guide for practical, biblical living.

With the clarity and bold authority of a true prophet, Luther sets forth the whole of the Christian life in two theses: "A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none. A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all." We are free from sin and the law (subject to none) but slaves to Christ in love (subject to all). As Paul writes in Romans 6:22, "But now...you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God."

Luther writes as a shepherd of the common people and the tone and content differ greatly from his better-known debate-oriented works (ie. Bondage of the Will, 95 Theses). The doctrine of justification by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone is the heart and soul of Luther's message, founded upon a firm conviction in the authority of scripture alone.

He writes, "One thing, and only one thing, is necessary for Christian life, righteousness, and freedom. That one thing is the most holy Word of God, the gospel of Christ."

And again, "It ought to be the first concern of every Christian to lay aside all confidence in works and increasingly to strengthen faith alone and through faith to grow in the knowledge, not of works, but of Christ Jesus, who suffered and rose for him.... No other work makes a Christian.... 'This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent' (John 6:29)."

And regarding our service to God, "...In this way the stronger member may serve the weaker, and we may be sons of God, each caring for and working for the other, bearing one another's burdens and so fulfilling the law of Christ. This is a truly Christian life. Here faith is truly active through love. That is, it finds expression in works of the freest service, cheerfully and lovingly done, with which a man willingly serves another without hope of reward; and for himself he is satisfied with the fullness and wealth of his faith."

Luther has been described by some as "abrasive" and "crude." O, for more abrasive, crude, Spirit-filled men of God like Luther. He speaks in the manner of Peter--both as a man of the common people and as a prophet of the Most High God. Here is the heart and soul of the Reformation. Luther's heart is poured out in his writings and his heart is filled only with the gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ, which is the power and the wisdom of God.

this book is an excellent encyclopedia of luther's most famous works. Luther was a theologian for the people and his paradoxes and ironies are easy to understand. Luther's intoxication with the proper understanding of the Law & Gospel thrilled his soul and he shows how it affects the sacraments, the church, the government, and of course, justification of sinful man before God. if you do not have 44 volumes of Luther's works in your library, this one is a good start.

This book provides a great survey of Luther's major writings. This book is best read in a class setting, as every piece has a very particular context. Many of the pieces are Luther's direct response to the occurences around him. The book makes the most sense when one has access to Luther's historical and social situation, which can be found in books like Luther: Man Between God and the Devil, written by Heiko Oberman.

This book is very informative. It has all of the major points of Luther's Works. However to the lay reader it may seem like a random compilation of writings. I liked the book and found it to be wonderful as a learning tool. I did find myself wishing for a little more explanation of the writings from the editor, but alas that was not his focus.

This is an excellent book, but I did want to give readers a heads up: the included CD only works on a PC. Thus, it will not work on a Mac computer. Again (and despite this shortcoming), I have found this a very valuable book.

This work is a great compilation of the works of Luther. It is fair and and also a great start in understanding and reading Luther's works. The one thing that I really like about the editor is that he gives a small introduction to each writing, the when and why the particular writing was written.

The book starts off with Luther's major theologies in the 97 Theses, 95 Theses and the Heidelberg Disputation. This compilation of the 97 theses was nice to see since it is so unfamiliar to most people but was Luther's first cry against Aristotle's theology. Most people have heard of Luther's famous quote, "Reason is a whore!," well the 97 Theses: Disputation against Scholastic Theology, gives you the full reasoning for this cry.

The book then materializes Luther's thoughts on the Power of the Word of God, The righteousness in Christ (which includes excerpts of his famous work, The Bondage of the Will), The promise of the Sacraments, The Reform of the Church, and the living and dying as a Christian. These are all done as not only formal works but also in some of his sermons.

I would definitely recommend this book as it will start the reader off on the right foot of Luther's theology and then you can decide where you would like to find further insight.

When I take a moment to consider the sheer volume of writings completed by Martin Luther during his lifetime, I can only imagine the difficulty I would face in trying to narrow down which writings to include in a volume of this length. Timothy F. Lull & William Russel faced this task head on and put together a great collection of Luther's basic theological writings. Lull had a two-fold focus in the first edition. He wanted to include Luther's most important shorter writings and demonstrate the range of Luther's theological interests. Russel expands the focus a bit in the second edition by adding some of Luther's personal writings, which give the reader further insight into Luther's religious life and personal commitments. The writings in this book are organized topically and are presented in seven parts:

Part I: Luther the Man
Part II: The Task of Theology
Part III: The Power of the Word of God
Part IV: The Righteousness of God
Part V: The Promise of the Sacraments
Part VI: The Reform of the Church
Part VII: Living and Dying As a Christian

For the benefit of those who may want to read these works in chronological order, the works in this volume are listed by order of composition year at the end of the table of contents.

As expected, this volume contains many of the familiar writings we associate with Luther, some in whole and others in part. (The Ninety-Five Theses, The Bondage of the Will, The Small Catechism, The Smalcald Articles, etc.) Most of these were familiar to me. I was most excited about the writings I was less familiar with in Part I: Luther The Man, especially Luther's will, selections from table talk and selected personal letters. These writings help to present a more personal side to Martin Luther that is sometimes lost in biographies and other academic works.

In addition to Luther's writings, there are several other things to note about this great volume. As you work through this book, you'll notice a number of the title pages from Luther's theological works in German, which have been reprinted here for your enjoyment. These title pages are quite beautiful and are in and of themselves art. There's a lot of symbolism in these pictures, so be sure to take the time to look them over. For those of you who want to do further study of Luther, there is a selected bibliography that comes before chapter one. It covers the following subject areas: 1. Primary Documents, 2. Bibliographies, 3. Martin Luther: Biography, 4. Martin Luther: Theology. The final feature I'd like to make note of is the CD-ROM that comes with the book. The CD-ROM is compatible with the Libronix Digital Library System from LOGOS Bible Software. It contains the full text of this book, a short biography of Luther, links to other resources, a research-paper guide, and a glossary.

Whether you're a layperson, theology student, pastor or a professor this book is a must for your library. The range of material covered will serve as a great introduction to the theological writings of Martin Luther. This book by itself is a great value. The Libronix-compatible CD is a bonus, allowing you to add this great work to both your print and digital library for one reasonable price.



Timothy F. Lull, editor, was President of Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, Berkley, and Professor of Systematic Theology there before his death in 2003.

William Russell is author of Luther's Theological Testament and translator of The Schmalkald Articles in The Book of Concord.

The reason Luther remains a puzzle to some is that his theology did have development. This book has selections from all periods of his career. When you get to "The Babylonian Captivity of the Church," there can be no question as to where he stands-- also with the "Smalcald Articles. This book does have some summaries and explanations at the beginning of sections that explain the historic background. A good summary of the 55 volume "American Edition."

It's a great collection of Martin Luther's writing. The only problem with the product is that the CD-ROM isn't Mac compatible. I bought it for a class so I didn't really have a choice, but being a Mac user I was disappointed that once again the Mac users are ignored by the academic world.

The book give great insight into the concepts from which Luther wrote and why he had such strong opinions.